The Invitation
by Sammie03
Summary: Meredith has received an invitation to Derek's wedding and she's not planning on going alone. Mer/Mark
1. Chapter 1

With trembling fingers, Meredith Grey lifted the delicate ivory paper off the kitchen table and read the bold black lettering for the ninth time since arriving in the mail that afternoon. It's not that she didn't expect it, because she knew it was coming. She didn't think it would have an effect on her, after all they hadn't dated in years.

McDreamy, her McDreamy was getting married and she was holding an invitation to the happiest day of his life in her tiny hands. A battle was waging within her, one part wanted to crumple it up and throw it in the trash. The more rational side told her that this was a part of remaining friends with him, something she told him she wanted. She would suck it up, plaster a smile on her face and watch him make vows to love, honor and cherish another woman, as his friend she owed him as much.

"Oh, you're not reading that again are you?" Cristina questioned, raising an eyebrow.

Meredith considered for a moment if it was even worth lying, Cristina would see right through it. "Okay I'm reading it again. Is it wrong that I'm feeling this way?"

"It's not wrong. It's pathetic. What you need to do is find a really hot date, go to that wedding and get over it already." Meredith knew she was right. "You might even get laid but if you break his penis, you're on your own this time." Break one penis and you never live it down. She shook her head.

"You're right." Picking the pen off the table, she marked the response card and shoved it into the envelope. "Now all I have to do is find a date." How hard could that be? She knew plenty of men, there was….uh. The truth was she hadn't been out with a man for a while. No problem, she could always take a friend. George, she'd ask George to go with her. Problem solved.

_A/N: I know it's a short first chapter, but the next one is longer. I promise. Please R&R._


	2. Chapter 2

Meredith stood by the door, watching George slip off his thin walnut jacket. It was no big deal. She would just ask him. He was George, she was Meredith, and he would say yes. Wouldn't he? "Okay, so here's the thing." She sucked in a short breath as all eyes landed on her. "Derek's getting married and I, well I'm freaking out a little. Not because Derek's getting married." Her hands flew up defensively "Because I'm fine. Except that I'm going to have to sit there and watch him get married, while everyone else, watches me to see if I'm freaking out because I'm alone. I can't freak out George; I just can't so I need a date."

George stared at her for a second before her words sunk in, suddenly he understood. "Me? You want to go with me?" He wanted to help her out, he really did. "I can't do it." He said quietly, hoping she wouldn't ask him why.

Meredith watched as he turned, hung his coat into the small cubby. "What do you mean you can't do it?" She asked, surprised. For Meredith, George was that friend who you could count on to take you to the prom when no one else asked. When no one wanted to be seen, with a girl who always dressed in black and had pink hair. George was that friend she never had in high school.

His large innocent eyes blinked back at her. "I just can't." He paused; scanning the room quickly to make sure no one was listening. "I already have a date." He whispered.

Meredith smiled, she didn't realize he was seeing anyone. "You have a date?"

George's eyes widened. "Shhh." It was new, this…whatever it was. Attraction, lust, possibly love. He wasn't sure; he just knew he wasn't ready for everyone to know.

"George?" She said, laughing. "What is going on?" George leaned in closer and opened his mouth, intending to tell her.

Cristina crossed the room, plopping down on the bench in front of them. "George already asked Lexie to go with him." She smirked; she always loved to make him uncomfortable. It ranked just below surgery and sex, and in that order. Surgery always came first with her.

"You knew?" He hissed. He looked around and saw a brief exchange of looks between his friends. "You all knew?" His voice boomed throughout the small space, how did they know?

"Relax George; no one thinks you're chasing after my leftovers." Alex smirked.

"Alex!" Izzie scolded, even though his words were true. Intentional or not, wherever George had been, Alex had been there first. With the exception of Callie and Meredith. "It's great George, Lexie is a sweet girl." George needed encouragement, as his best friend she was going to give it. Having learned her lesson with his first wife, she wouldn't go down that road again.

"So you and my sister?" George nodded. "I think that's great George." She was happy for them but now she was back where she started, without a date. Her eyes shifted, an idea suddenly occurred to her. "Alex, wanna take me to a wedding? I'll pay for the drinks."

"Can't. I have a hot date too." He snuck a smile at the tall blonde across the room, tying her shoe. "I gotta go. Good luck finding a boy toy Grey."

"I'm going to have to go to this thing alone." Meredith said, horrified. "Completely and utterly alone." She sank down on the bench next to Cristina. "What am I gonna do?"

"Oh come on, you must have more options then _George_ and _Alex_." There was no other option, she was screwed. "Oh." Cristina shook her head, it was worse than she thought. "That's just sad."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Izzie was tired of the way Cristina always managed to put her down. Constant comments about how she wasn't cut out for cardio, flat out insults about her horrible taste in men. It was starting to piss her off. "_I_ dated George and Alex!"

"Can we focus on Meredith's pathetic love life for a minute?" Meredith flashed a weak smile at Izzie. "She needs our help."

Izzie sighed. As much as she hated to agree with Cristina, she was right. Meredith did need their help. "What about asking an old boyfriend?" Izzie suggested.

"Are you kidding? All she has for ex's is McVet. You can't bring a _vet_ to a brain surgeon's wedding; it's just wrong and more pathetic than going alone." Cristina scoffed, only Izzie would think of something that stupid.

Finn, he would be perfect. The problem with Finn though, was he had plans and he was currently making plans with his wife, Julie. Meredith had run into them last week, in the hospital. Thirty-eight weeks along, Julie was ready to give birth to their baby. It was awkward; the petite strawberry blonde was the kind of girl who knew nothing of what it was like to be dark or twisty. She was perfect for Finn. Meredith smiled, it probably wouldn't be a good idea if she called and asked him to escort her to Derek's wedding. No, probably not.


	3. Chapter 3

An uneasy feeling swept over Meredith as she stepped inside the one place she managed to avoid most of the day. Lifting one petite finger, she pushed the small round button that would take her to the ground floor. The doors slid together, almost to a close, when at the last second, a large hand wedged in between them. Inwardly, she groaned. The mystery man was not such a mystery to her. Like some form of cruel joke, it could only be one person. His eyes matched the color of the blue shirt she had given him for Christmas last year, in the spirit of friendship. A crooked grin emerged. She waited with anticipation for the impossibly charming remark to inevitably fall from his lips. "Hey." Okay, maybe not so charming.

"Hey." Silence awkwardly filled the cramped space. She focused on the lighted numbers above the doors, couldn't they move any faster. It was like they were in slow motion.

"This is stupid, I feel like you're avoiding me."

"I'm not avoiding you." She lied. She had been avoiding him.

"Meredith." He knew she was lying, she wouldn't even look him in the eye.

"Okay, so I'm avoiding." She admitted, lifting her shoulders in a shrug. "It's a little pathetic, I know"

"It's not pathetic." They had a history, one that made it awkward for her to attend his wedding. If it had been up to him, they would not have sent her an invitation without talking to her extensively about it. Apparently it wasn't up to him though, his fiancé had sent the invitations before he got the chance to stop her. "I'm sorry; I should have spoken to you first."

"No, it's okay. I mean, I knew you were getting married. It's not like it came as a surprise." Her eyes met his, forcing her to offer up a fake smile. "And I want to go, we're friends."

"It's okay if you don't go you know, we'll understand." He would understand, of course it would bring on a series of questions about whether Meredith Grey still had feeling for him, which in turn would bring questions about his feelings for Meredith Grey. The answer was simple, for him it was just friendship and he suspected it was that way for her too. That didn't mean it would be easy to watch her marry someone else if the tables were turned.

He was giving her an out, she intended on taking full advantage. They understood why she couldn't bare to attend. She opened her mouth, ready to graciously accept what he was offering. However, that was not what she did. It flew out before she could stop it. "I already have a date, so it's too late to back out now. Besides, I really want to go." What was she saying, why couldn't she just stop talking and find someplace to hide. Now she couldn't show up alone, he would know she lied and feel sorry for her. Poor pathetic Meredith, dateless and alone.

"You have a date?" She nodded. "Anyone I know?"

Her first instinct was to make up a name, any name. Possibilities raced through her mind, Chris, Bob, Matt…and then it happened. The elevator doors opened and her answer was standing right in front of her. "Mark." Unknowingly, he stepped into the elevator. "Mark is my date."

"You're taking Meredith to my wedding? I thought you said you were going stag."

"I…uh." He stammered, uncertain of what he was being dragged into. He was about to tell his best friend that he had no clue what Grey had told him, but it wasn't the truth. He didn't have a date yet. Her eyes seemed to desperately cry out for his help and before he knew it, he was confirming whatever lie she had told. "I didn't want to upset you. We don't exactly have the best track record when it comes to this sort of thing."

"No." Derek chuckled. "I suppose we don't."

Meredith prayed they would reach the ground floor soon and that Derek would leave her and Mark alone to talk, she needed to apologize. He didn't deserve to be put in the middle like that and if he wanted, she would find some way to get him out of it. Finally, the doors opened, the lobby was quiet.

Derek and Mark walked in front of her, discussing one of Mark's patients. A seventy five year old woman who wanted breast enhancements and felt the need to try to bribe him with sex when he turned her down. Derek laughed, asking if he was going to take the bribe. Meredith stopped and watched them walk away as they neared the front door.


	4. Chapter 4

With her coat draped over her arm, Meredith pulled open the spotless glass door of the Archfield Hotel. Her failed attempts to get Mark alone had led her here, to let him off the hook. She held her breath as the elevator doors opened. An automatic reaction from her past relationship with misfortunate encounters at inappropriate times in her life, this could very well be one of those times. A little old man shuffled off the lift, looking at her strangely, as she exhaled deeply.

Stopping at two other floors, the ride was slow. As she reached her destination, Meredith took a step forward and crashed into the man who had been waiting there. He scowled at her before noticing who it was that rammed into him. "Hey." He looked down the hall, nervously. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to see Sloan. I'm giving him the chance to back out of our date." Her eyes traveled in the same path as his, wondering what was so interesting. "What are you doing here?"

He spun back around quickly and took a step around her, getting onto the elevator. "Me…nothing. Just heading home."

He was acting strangely, almost secretive. Not just tonight, but in the past month he had been hiding something from them. She wondered if he was seeing someone or if he was just randomly hooking up with women and taking them back to the closest hotel for a little fun. "Hot date?" The doors closing cut off his answer. Either way, it didn't matter. She had her own problems and right now they were more important than who Alex Karev was spending his time with at the Archfield.

Mark's room was right around the corner, she remembered from the time she and Derek gave him a ride home after finding him at Joe's, too drunk to get himself home. That was the night Derek told her he broke things off with Rose. A shimmer of hope was soon squashed with the news that he had found his way back to the woman he once loved enough to give his name to, Addison Montgomery.

With no hesitation, she knocked on the door to his suite. "What are you doing here Grey?" The gravely voice came from behind her. She turned to see Mark standing in the hallway wearing a sweat soaked t-shirt and a pair of shorts; he had been at the gym.

She tried to ignore the cling of the damp shirt against his tight stomach. "I wanted to talk to you about the wedding, I'm sorry I got you involved in my…"

"Lie?" Lifting his brow, he smirked in amusement. He knew why she was there; she was there to back out, as he expected she would do.

"I didn't lie." She paused, rolling her eyes because he was right. She did lie. "Well okay, technically it was a lie." She shifted nervously from one foot to the other, letting him off the hook wasn't as easy as she thought..

"A lie you dragged me into." He pointed out.

Guilt seeped in, he didn't ask for this. "I know. I'm sorry about that. If you want out, I'll understand." It was unfair for her to expect him to go along with it.

"I don't want out." He brushed past her, swiping the card to unlock the door. "I have every intention of taking you to that wedding. I might even show you a good time if you play your cards right…" He pushed open the door. "…and if you come in, I'll give you a little preview." He teased, knowing she would say no.

"You don't want out?" Surprised and a little worried, she asked him why. She did not intend to sleep with him, so why was he doing this?

"I'm doing you a favor." He grinned. "I'm doing you a favor and when the time comes, you'll do me a favor in return. That's what friends do." There it was. The reason she should run and not look back. He wanted something from her and she was afraid of what that something was.


End file.
